Raju ban gaya Dipti

Raheel Dhattiwala / TNN / Mar 8, 2007, 00:20 IST

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Today, Ahmedabad-based social activists are known by their spouse's name.

<arttitle>Raju <i>ban gaya</i> Dipti</arttitle>

AHMEDABAD: When Raju Purohit and Dipti Shah exchanged wedding vows in 1985, Dipti did not become a Purohit. Raju Purohit became 'Raju Dipti' and Dipti began to call herself 'Dipti Raju'. Today, these Ahmedabad-based social activists are known by their spouse's name.
Inspired by the Jayprakash Narayan movement motivating people to drop their surnames and not reveal their castes, Raju Purohit had dropped his surname in the 70s; until he met Dipti."While giving my life a new meaning, Dipti also gave me a new name," he says.
Though the couple have not officially changed their surnames ("the paperwork and affidavits were too cumbersome"), they are recognised by friends and colleagues as Raju Dipti and Dipti Raju. In fact, several couples in the state have followed their example.
Fortunately for Gopalkrishna Bharad, 39, who happened to marry Krishna in 1993, didn't have to make a major change. "My marriage was the turning point of my life and I started writing my name as Gopal-Krishna thereafter," says this magazine editor from Rajkot.

So far, there have been instances where men have adopted their mother's name, instead of that of their father — like Sanjay Leela Bhansali or Sunil Bharti Mittal. But taking their wife's name is unheard of. Rajpipla's Dhirendra Smita Soneji, 50, is an exception even further. Soneji adopted his wife's name as his middle name in 1985 — a decision, that Soneji recalls, did raise eyebrows. "But then, my family considers us eccentrics anyway," he laughs.
Raju's and Dipti's son Ruchir explains, "How many of us remember the names of our great-grandmothers unless there's a family tree charted out! We only talk about women's rights but nobody sets an example to endorse it," he says.
Ruchir, 18, calls himself Ruchir Raju Dipti and, unlike his parents, intends to file an affidavit to officially call himself after his parents' names.

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